Is a garden office pod the same thing as a garden room?

Not quite. A garden office pod is usually a small, one-room unit made to a set design and put up quickly. A garden room is usually a larger timber building built on site, often to a custom layout. People use the two words for the same thing, so check how a company builds before you compare prices.

Do I need planning permission for a garden office pod or garden room?

Often not, in England, if it counts as an outbuilding under permitted development: single storey, in the rear garden, used as ancillary space rather than somewhere to sleep, and no taller than 2.5m if it sits within 2m of a boundary. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own rules. Check with your council before you order anything.

Can a shipping container be a garden office?

Yes. CS Containers insulates a steel container, lines it, fits windows, a door, power sockets and LED lighting in the workshop, then delivers it finished by HIAB crane lorry. A qualified electrician makes the final connection to your house supply on site.

How much does a container garden office cost?

Phil Cambridge quotes container office conversions from around £6,000, and the price rises with size and specification. Delivery is priced separately on your postcode and access. Phil gives you a written price for the finished office before you commit.

Which is the most secure garden office?

A steel container. It starts as a lockable, weatherproof steel shell, which is much harder to force than timber panels. If you want the look of a timber room, the container can be clad in timber with the steel structure underneath.

Garden Office Pod or Garden Room? The Real Differences

Name: Cambridge Shipping Containers Ltd
Address: 7 Harcourt Road, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA6 8AQ, GB
Telephone: 020 8226 0007
Price range: ££

Short answer: a garden office pod is usually a small, one-room unit made to a set design; a garden room is usually a bigger timber building put up in your garden. CS Containers, based in Bexleyheath, Kent, builds a third option for UK gardens: a steel container insulated and fitted out as an office in the workshop, then craned in finished.

The words get used for the same thing, which is why prices look so far apart when you start comparing. This guide sets out what each one actually is, how it gets built, what UK planning allows, and where each makes sense. Updated October 2026.

What is the difference between a garden office pod and a garden room?

A garden office pod is normally a compact building for one or two people, sold as a model rather than designed for you. The appeal is speed and a fixed specification.

A garden room is normally a larger timber building, often designed around the space you have and what you want to use it for: an office, a gym, a studio or a spare living area. Most are built on site from a timber frame.

A container garden office starts as a steel shipping container. Insulation, lining, windows, a door, power and lighting all go in at a workshop, so the building arrives as a finished room rather than a delivery of parts. At CS Containers every one is built to the customer's specification; there are no ready-made units sitting in stock.

	Timber garden room	Container garden office
Where it is built	In your garden, often over several days	In a workshop, delivered finished
Structure	Timber frame and panels	Steel container, insulated and lined
Security	Lighter panels, easier to force	Lockable steel shell
Upkeep	Timber needs treating to stop rot	Steel will not rot; keep the paint in good order
Look	Timber as standard	Painted steel, or clad in timber
Garden access	Parts carried through by hand	Needs room for a crane lorry to lift it in

How long does the work in your garden take?

A timber garden room is assembled where it will stand, so the trades are in your garden for the build. A container garden office is the other way round: the work happens in the workshop, then one HIAB crane lorry brings it and lifts it into place on the day. A qualified electrician then makes the final connection to your house supply.

HIAB crane lorry lifting a finished container garden office over a back garden fence onto concrete pads — A finished container office arrives on one lorry and is lifted into place on the day.

The catch is access. The lorry needs about 4 metres of clear width and around 3.5 metres of overhead clearance to get close enough, so a narrow side passage or low cables can rule out a container where a timber room would still go in piece by piece. Phil asks about gates, branches and soft ground before he quotes. How shipping containers are delivered covers it in detail.

Do you need planning permission?

In England, most garden offices go in under permitted development as outbuildings, as long as they are single storey, in the rear garden, used as ancillary space rather than somewhere to sleep, and within the height limits. The one that catches people out is 2.5 metres maximum height within 2 metres of a boundary.

That matters for a container. A standard 10ft or 20ft container is 2.59 metres tall before it sits on its base, and a high cube is 2.90 metres, so one tucked against the fence is over that limit. Set it further from the boundary or check with your council first. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own planning systems. Our guide to planning permission for shipping containers goes through the rules.

Will it be warm enough to work in all year?

Any of the three can be, if it is insulated properly. With a container that is the whole job: bare steel gets cold and sweats. CS Containers insulates the walls, floor and roof, lines the inside and adds anti-condensation measures, so the office holds its heat in winter. How a container is insulated and why containers get condensation explain the detail.

Inside an insulated container garden office on a winter evening, with plywood-lined walls, a panel heater and a desk by the window — Insulated walls, floor and roof are what keep a container office warm in winter.

What does a container garden office cost?

Phil Cambridge quotes container office conversions from around £6,000, depending on the size and specification. More windows, a heater, cladding or a bigger container all add to that. Delivery is priced separately because it depends on your postcode and access, and the final electrical connection is done by your electrician.

We do not publish timber pod or garden room prices, because we do not build them. For the full breakdown on a container, read what a container conversion costs.

So which one is right for you?

If you want a set design, a small footprint and the quickest route to a desk at the bottom of the garden, a pod does the job. If you want something bigger, laid out your way, and your garden can only be reached on foot, a timber garden room makes more sense. If security matters most and you would rather the building turned up finished, a container garden office is the one, provided a crane lorry can get close enough to lift it in.

If the container route sounds right, see container garden offices for what goes into one, or call Phil on 020 8226 0007. Tell him the size you are thinking of, what you will use it for and how the garden is reached, and he will give you a written price for the finished office.